Tamilnadu - Tamilnadu Districts - Tiruchirappalli District

Tiruchirappalli District

Tiruchirappalli, is the fourth largest city in Tamil Nadu, Situated on the banks of the river Cauvery. It was a citadel of the early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. Trichy is a fine blend of tradition and modernity built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the Fort, there are several Churches, The town and its fort, now in Trichy were built by the Nayaks of Madurai. This city has given great Tamil scholars whose contributions to the Tamil literature have been very significant. The most famous land mark of this bustling town is the Rockfort Temple, a spectacular monument perched on a massive rocky out crop which rises abruptly from the plain to tower over the old city. It was one of the main centers around which the wars of the Carnatic were fought in the 18th century during the British-French struggle for supremacy in India. The city is a thriving commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is famous for artificial diamonds, cigars, handloom cloth, glass bangles and wooden and clay toys.

History

Tiruchirapalli is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Tamil Nadu. Situated on the banks of Kaveri River, Tiruchirappalli was the citadel of the Early Cholas. It is mentioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century BC. Uraiyur, which served as the capital of the Early Cholas from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD is a suburb of present-day Tiruchirapalli. The oldest dam, Kallanai, was built by Karikala Cholan across the Kaveri River, about 10 miles (16 km) from Uraiyur.

The medieval history of Tiruchirapalli begins with the reign of the Pallava king Mahendravarman I who ruled over South India in the 6th century AD. Mahendravarman laid the foundation of the Rockfort which is regarded as the cultural symbol of the city and is one of the oldest surviving monuments in Tamil Nadu. When the Chola Empire began to decline, Tiruchirapalli was conquered by the Pandyas who ruled from 1216 to 1311 when they were defeated by Malik Kafur. The victorious armies of the Sultanate are believed to have plundered and ravaged the kingdom. According to a local legend, the idol of Lord Ranganatha in the Hindu temple of Srirangam was saved from destruction by transporting it out of the city.

Tiruchirapalli was ruled by the Delhi Sultanate and the Madurai Sultanate from 1311 to 1378 when it was annexed by the Vijayanagar Empire. Tiruchirapalli remained a part of the Vijayanagar Empire and its successor, the Madurai Nayak kingdom till 1736. Under the Madurai Nayak kingdom, Tiruchirapalli was an important stronghold in the wars against the Thanjavur Marathas and later, Chanda Sahib. It served as the capital of the kingdom from 1616 to 1634 and from 1665 to 1736. In 1736, the last Madurai Nayak ruler Meenakshi committed suicide and Tiruchirapalli was conquered by Chanda Sahib who ruled the kingdom from 1736 to 1740 when he was captured and killed by the Thanjavur Marathas.

City Info

Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District(s)	Trichirapalli
Subdistrict	Srirangam,Musiri,Manapparai,Lalgudi,Manachanellur
Headquarters	Tiruchirappalli

Education

Tiruchirappalli has a number of educational institutions. The National Institutes of Technology has a campus at Thuvakudi near Tiruchirappalli city. St. Joseph's College, opened in Nagapattinam in 1846 and transferred to Tiruchirappalli in 1883, is one of the oldest educational institutions in Tamil Nadu. Other important colleges in Tiruchirappali include National College, Mookambigai College of Engineering, and J.J. College of Engineering and Technology, Bishop Heber College, Jamal Mohamed College, Anna University Trichy, Bharathidasan Institute of Management, the Government Law College, Trichy Engineering College, Holy Cross College, Shrimati Indra Gandhi College, Saranathan College of Engineering and K.A.P Viswanatham Government Medical College.

The Bharathidasan University is based in Tiruchirappalli and exercises its jurisdiction over colleges in Tiruchirapalli district and seven neighbouring ones. The Government of India's Ministry for Human Resources Development (HRD) has approved a proposal for the setting up of a campus of the Indian Institute of Management in Tiruchirappalli and the campus is expected to start functioning from the 2010-11 academic season.

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